John A. Sutter (1803-1880) could have become one of the richest men
in California when gold was found on his property. Instead he lost
his vast land holdings on the Sacramento and Feather Rivers and
eventually left California penniless. Sutter always claimed to be
the victim of charlatans, but he bore considerable responsibility
for his downfall. He had amassed huge debts before the gold
discovery and added even more afterward. In the rough dealings of
frontier capitalism in gold-rush California, Sutter was easy prey.
Soon after the gold discovery, Sutter's eldest son, John A.
Sutter, Jr. (1826-1897), arrived. Born and raised in Switzerland,
John, Jr., had not seen his father since 1834 when the patriarch
fled to avoid debtors' prison. He tried to save his father's
estate, but in the attempt, John, Jr., became the dupe of
speculating businessmen and a physician who concocted a bold land
swindle.
Somehow, in the midst of these hardships, John, Jr., managed to
found Sacramento. However, ill and disgusted with his experiences,
he soon left for Mexico. Hoping to obtain compensation for the land
that he had lost, he returned to California in 1855 to give his
lawyer a thorough statement cataloging how he and his father were
swindled. This extensive document describes the dirty deals of the
first great gold rush in the western United States.
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